To the reader who sent me this meme, here’s an AI summary:
Social Security fraud is a small fraction of total payments, with the SSA reporting over 99% payment accuracy, meaning less than 1% are improper, and a tiny portion of that is deliberate fraud versus administrative error. While estimates vary, deliberate fraud is very low (e.g., <0.0003% for some phone-based fraud), with most “improper payments” being unintentional overpayments due to mistakes or delays.
What journalist Chris Hedges says here about American democracy was true even before Trump came along. We have the illusion of free choice without any real substance. George Carlin was saying this 30 years ago.
Now, of course, all this is much worse.
Do you think the American people want to prevent the decarbonization of our energy and transportation sectors? Block women’s access to abortion? Destroy our educational system? Ignore the science that surrounds vaccinations? Invade other countries and steal their resources? Have armed thugs in large cities in blue states?
It’s preposterous.
We’ll just have to see how all these arguments work for him at his trial for second degree murder, or perhaps voluntary manslaughter.
I’d put the “over and under” on this at 15 years in state prison.
More broadly, we’ll learn how the American people come to regard this entire operation, whereby untrained but heavily armed thugs are let loose into the large cities in blue states to create mayhem.
Humankind’s great minds, starting with the ancient Greek philosophers, and leading all the way up to our modern-day thinkers, have been warning us of the consequences we’d face for our ignorance and hate.
Are you serious? Why do you think we’re destroying the Amazon rainforest, other than to make more room for beef cattle?
We’re wrecking our planet to make McDonald’s rich beyond belief.
The only larger contributor to environmental collapse is the continuing consumption of fossil fuels, and halting the transition to renewable energy, which the United States if pushing full-bore.
The level of support for Trumpism in this country is running at about 40%. My gardener (nice, honest, hard-working guy btw) has the same chance of becoming president in 2028 as you do.
Most Americans have values that are normally categorized as “liberal,” e.g., human rights, quality education, environmental responsibility, rule of law, etc., and are going to be demanding the end of the insanity here.
The Trump administration is working hard to protect the ICE shooter in Minnesota, insofar as the entire legitimacy of “border patrol” personnel roaming the streets of cities 1000 miles from the border is at stake.
But they’re going down hard here, based on the video evidence that is available to everyone on Earth.
The murderer of George Floyd is serving 21 years in prison; let’s expect roughly the same here.
And let’s hope that the sentiment of American voters re: ICE accordingly takes a shift.
Unfortunately, this whole legal process is going to take years to come to a conclusion, during which time human rights and rule of law in the United States may have all but vanished.
Besides the items list at left, what else do we want more of?
Well, guns obviously, especially assault rifles in the hands of those who may be mentally ill. Then let’s add bans on books, and restrictions on what teachers can say in the classroom.
But at the top of the list, we need more freedom for our president to do anything he wants in taking over other countries around the globe. As he himself said, “I don’t need international law.”
I love supporting the thrift store economy, in both donations and purchases. I had six suits and about 80 ties at one point; now I have one suit and perhaps four ties. Somewhere around here, there are people who now dress like they own a Brooks Brothers franchise.
Whenever I make a donation, I look through the t-shirts and try to find a few that have environmentalist themes, maybe “Go Solar!” or “Save the Whales.”
Highly recommended.
Well educated people tend to view Donald Trump as a conman, and most poorly educated people believe he’s here to make America great again.
